192 



CONGRESS. (THE TARIFF BILL.) 



In moving to rescind the Plouse order for a 

 conference, to discharge the House conferees, 

 and recede from disagreement to the Senate 

 amendments, Mr. Wilson said : 



" I do not pretend that I am gratified at the 

 outcome of this prolonged controversy. I do not 

 pretend that up to the very last moment I had 

 not cherished the hope and the faith that we 

 should reach another and a better conclusion 

 of this conflict between the two Houses of the 

 American Congress. 



" I had hoped and believed until there seemed 

 no ground scarcely for hope or belief that in 

 such a contest this House, backed by the Ameri- 

 can people and enthusiastically sustained by the 

 Democratic party, would be able to achieve some 

 honorable compromise between the two Houses 

 which we could have accepted, not from a sense 

 of duty, but with a sense of satisfaction and a 

 feeling" that we had responded to the mandates 

 of the American people. 



" But, Mr. Speaker, we have simply realized 

 in this great fight the fact so well stated by the 

 great leader of the tariff-reform fight in Great 

 Britain that when the people have gained a 

 victory at the polls they must have a further 

 stand-up and knock-down fight with their own 

 representatives. And we have realized, if noth- 

 ing else, the warning lesson of the intrenchment 

 of the protective system in this country under 

 thirty years of class legislation, until the mere 

 matter of tariff schedules is a matter of insig- 

 nificance, and the great question presents itself, 

 Is this to be a Government by a self-taxing peo- 

 ple, or a Government of taxation by trusts and 

 monopolies? 



" If we have taken out of chis fight no other 

 lesson than that, it has been to us a great, an 

 inspiring, and valuable lesson. If we have not 

 been able to get all that the mandates of the 

 people told us to get, all that the high enthu- 

 siasm of the people expected us to get, we have 

 brought this dangerous fact face to face with 

 American freemen, and we have made some 

 breach. I hope, in the protective system through 

 which the hosts of American freemen will con- 

 tinue to march. 



" I shall not say to the people of this country, 

 I shall not say to my colleagues here (from whom 

 even at the expense of what may seem ill taste 

 on this occasion I can not withhold the expres- 

 sion of my unspeakable gratitude for their per- 

 sonal friendship and their loyal and enthusiastic 

 support) I shall not say to them that white is 

 black or that false is true, or that protection is 

 a just and honest system of taxation. Nothing 

 which is not done right ever lasts. No work that 

 is not thorough ever remains undisturbed. You 

 CMM settle no question like the great question of 

 taxation permanently and safely except upon the 

 li-nial basis of right and of liberty. 



"I shall not attempt, as I said at the outset, 

 to explain the merits or to dwell upon the de- 

 merits of the six hundred and odd amendments 

 to this bill which this House is about, of neces- 

 sity, to concur in. Perhaps I could not do jus- 

 tice as yet to the merits of the amendments. 

 My attention has necessarily been so constantly 

 and so steadily directed to their demerits that it 

 would require some experience to learn what the 

 merits are. But whatever the measure of short- 



coming of this bill in its present form whatever 

 be its demerits in mere schedules this I do be- 

 lieve, that it is not as bad as the McKinley bill." 



The motion was carried by the following vote : 



YEAS Alderson, Alexander, Allen, Arnold, Bailey, 

 Baker of Kansas, Baldwin, Bankhead, Barnes, Bar- 

 wig, Bell of C'olorado, Bell of Texas, Beltzhoover, 

 Berry, Black of Georgia, Bland, Boatner, Boen, Bower 

 of North Carolina, Branch, Breckinridge of Arkansas, 

 Bretz, Brookshire, Brown, Bryan, Bunn, Cabaniss, 

 Cadmus, Caminetti, Campbell, 'Cannon of California, 

 Capehart, Caruth, Catchings, Causey, Clark of Mis- 

 souri, Clarke of Alabama, Cobb of Alabama, Cobb of 

 Missouri, Cockrell,Cofteen, Coombs, Cooper of Florida, 

 Cooper of Indiana, Cooper of Texas, Cornish, Cox, 

 Crain, Crawford, Culberson, Cummings, Davis, De 

 Armond, De Forest, Denson, Dinsmore. Dockery, 

 Donovan, Dunn, Durborow, Edmunds, Ellis of Ken- 

 tucky, English of California, English of New Jersey, 

 Enlo'e, Epes, Erdman, Fitliian. Forman, Fyan, Geary, 

 Geissenhainer, Goldzier, Grady, Graham, Griffin, 

 Haines, Hall of Minnesota, Hall of Missouri, Ham- 

 mond, Hare, Harris, Hatch, Hayes, Heard, Hender- 

 son of North Carolina, Holman, Hooker of Mississippi, 

 Hudson, Hunter, Ikirt, Izlar, Jones, Kilgore, Knobs, 

 Kyle, Lane, Lapham, Latimer, Lawson, Layton, Les- 

 ter, Livingston, Lockwood, Lynch, Maddox* Maguire, 

 Mallory, Martin of Indiana, McAleer, McCreary of 

 Kentucky, McCulloch, McDannold, McDearmon, 

 McEttrick, McGann, McKaig, McLaurin, McMillin, 

 McNagny, McRae, Money, Montgomery, Moore. Mor- 

 gan, Mutchler, Neill, Gates, Ogden, O'Neil of Massa- 

 chusetts. O'Neill of Missouri, Outhwaite, Paschal, Pat- 

 terson, Paynter, Pearson, Pence, Pendleton of Texas, 

 Pendleton of West Virginia, Pigott, Reilly, Richards 

 of Ohio, Richardson of Michigan, Richardson of Ten- 

 nessee, Ritchie, Robbins, Robertson of Louisiana, 

 Rusk, Russell of Georgia, Ryan, Say ere, Shell, Sipe, 

 Snodgrass, Somers, Sorg, Sperry, Springer, Stevens, 

 Stone of Kentucky, Strait, Straus, Swanson, T albert 

 of South Carolina, Talbott of Maryland, Tate, Taylor 

 of Indiana, Terry, Tucker, Turner of Georgia, Turner 

 of Virginia, Tyler, Weadock, Wells, Wheeler of Ala- 

 bama, Williams of Illinois, Williams of Mississippi, 

 Wilson of West Virginia, Wise, Wolverton, Woodard, 

 the Speaker 182. 



NAYS Adams of Pennsylvania, Apsley, Avery, 

 Babcock, Baker of New Hampshire, Bartlett, Bing- 

 ham, Blair, Boutelle, Bowers of California, Broderick, 

 Brosius, Burrows, Cannon of Illinois, Childs, Cock- 

 ran, Cogswell, Cooper of Wisconsin, Cousins, Covert, 

 Curtis of Kansas, Daniels, Davey, Dingley, Dolliver, 

 Doolittlc, Dunphy, Ellis of Oregon, Everett, Funk, 

 Gear, Gillet of New York, Gillett of Massachusetts, 

 Gorman, Grosvenor, Grout, Grow, Hager, Hainer, 

 Harmer, Hartman, Hausren, Heiner, Henderson of 

 Iowa, Hendrix, Hepburn' Hermann, Hitt, Hooker of 

 New York, Hopkins of Illinois, Hopkins of Pennsyl- 

 vania, Houk, llulick, Hull, Johnson of Indiana, John- 

 son of North Dakota, Johnson of Ohio, Kiefer, Lacey, 

 Linton, Loud, Loudenslasrer, Lucas, Marsh, Marvin of 

 New York, McCall, McCleary of Minnesota, McDowell, 

 Meiklejohn, Mercer, Meyer, Milliken, Murray, North- 

 way, Payne, Perkins, Phillips, Pickler, Post. Powers, 

 Price, Quigg, Reed, Reyburn, Russell of Connecticut, 

 Scranton, Sherman, Smith, Stepherison, C. W. Stone, 

 W. A. Stone, Storer, Strong, Tarsney, Tawney, Upde- 

 graff, Van Voorhis of New York. Van Voorhis of Ohio, 

 Wadsworth, W anger, Warner, Waugh, Wilson of Ohio, 

 Wilson of Washington, Woomer, Wright of Pennsyl- 

 vania 106. 



ANSWERED " PRESENT "Black of Illinois, Hutche- 

 son. Page 3. 



NOT VOTING Abbott, Adams of Kentucky, Aitken, 

 Aldrich, Bartholdt, Belden, Breckinridge of Ken- 

 tucky, Brickner, Bundy, Burnes, Bynum, Chicker- 

 ing, Clancy, Conn, Curtis of New York, Dalzell, 

 Draper, Fielder, Fletcher, Gardner, Goodnight, Gresh- 

 am, Harter, Henderson of Illinois, Hicks, Hines, Kern, 

 Lefever, Magner, Mahon, Marshall, McKeighan, Mere- 



